Pages

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

around the (frigid) farm

It is cold! So, so cold. The kind of lingering cold that makes me fret about my first year pullets in our un-heated barn and our goat who just happened to come down with a small cold right before the freeze and our ageing pup with bad hips and a blind eye and the fact that we don't yet have a woodstove in this house in case the power company fails us. Whew. I'm not exactly sure why, but tiny troubles certainly seem to magnify when the days are shorter, don't they?

The following are pre-Thanksgiving photos. Were I to take a picture today, things would look much more bleak! Or perhaps that's just my current attitude talking ;)

Two garden beds were amended with compost and planted out with garlic on All Hallows' Eve, as is fast becoming tradition here. I mulched these beds with leaves, which were promptly blown away by our strong westerly winds. I admit I mulched with a thicker layer of leaves a second time (which also completely blew away) before coming to my senses and laying down heavy straw like I did last year.

We're continuing to milk Spring a bit through the winter, and I'm getting better at making chèvre with each batch. I mixed a little salt, honey, and sun-dried tomatoes in my most recent version, and I think it's the best yet!

We also had a bit of a farming milestone here, as I was able to sell one of our harvested turkeys for someone else's Thanksgiving table! A real-deal customer! And how gratifying that there do exist in my real life people seeking out local, humanely raised meat.

We're drawing inward to home much more as this season progresses, and I'm finding that balance is an illusion while caring for my little nursling and my big girl and also trying to manage the rest of my daily work. For the first time ever, I have two unfinished knitting projects in my basket, with a third about to be cast on. I've always finished one thing before beginning another, but somehow this is not the easier path these days, when I'm short on time and need shorter (and shorter!) rows to work.

6 comments:

It's a busy time with 2 littles... Cherish it (unfinished knitting projects and all), for it goes WAY too fast. The days can be long, but the years fly by. I often wonder just how it is that I can be a Grandma when my time of mothering little ones feels like it was only a few years ago!

I don't remember it being this bloody cold so early in winter. I bought a heat lamp for my ladies because I was worried about them. I don't know if they needed it or not, but it made me feel better knowing it was out there.

Stay warm and do the best - part of having the extra responsibility of animals is the worry that goes with them. These bitter days makes all of us work harder and worry more but the sense of coming through intact is our reward. Hugs and warm thoughts from someone who is freezing her butt off as well.

Stay warm, my friend, as it sure is cold indeed! I hope all the critters fair well. I must say this cold snap has me questioning if I am ready for keeping chickens (a plan for the spring) or not. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. That goat cheese is making my mouth water....

About us

Living the dream on our small 2 acre farm in Colorado. Join our journey as we work to live off our land, one step at a time. Our interests often center around home, family, food, and simple living (in all its complexities!). Thank you for visiting!